Mice Will Play
by HazelnutCookie
Summary: Eddie reconnects with an old flame, and while Jane is called away on business, Eddie starts to rediscover everything that he loved about Ally Rhone.
1. Chapter 1

After not seeing Ally Rhone for nearly five years, Eddie Alden almost didn't recognize her, could have walked right past her like she was a painting on the wall. However, there was something that made her stand out as he passed her on the street, something that made him glance over his shoulder to her. It was the smell of her perfume, the same Yves Saint Laurent fragrance that she had always worn, and that he hadn't smelled the same way since.

She looked different, not entirely but little changes here and there. Her hair was short, a wavy windblown look that stopped just past her shoulders, it used to be longer, nearly down her back. There were streaks of blonde going through it now, riding the milk chocolate colored waves. Her eyes hadn't changed though, they were still the clear brown they had always been, with a ring of gold around the outsides, and they were heavily framed by thick black lashes.

Her name was on his lips, he was ready to open his mouth and call out of her, but almost as soon as he had noticed her, she had disappeared into the ebbing sea of New Yorkers. The sun was beating down mercilessly on his back and he wasn't in the mood to be trampled by tourists and natives, too busy to notice that a mad had suddenly been turned into a statue.

He made his way back to his apartment in the Upper East Side, his head still in a dim yet unrelenting fog. He walked up the stairs not really paying attention, and when he reached his front door, he was also shocked that he had arrived, thought that he might have floated up the long creaky stairway.

Eddie dumped his groceries onto the counter and noticed, almost with relief that Jane had already left for her yoga class, which she did about three times a week. Eddie walked out onto the adjacent balcony and irritably began to smoke a cigarette, never minding the heat of the day and paying more attention to the sweet burning on the back of his tongue.

_What right did Ally have to show up again?_ He thought as he passed the lit Marlboro from finger to finger, never minding the ash that was dropping to his jeans. She had skipped down when she was twenty years old, and now just came back to Manhattan out of the blue.

After puffing the cigarette to a stump and crushing it out on the marble of the balcony, faintly registering that Jane was going to give him hell for it later, an uncomfortable thought passed through his mind. Was he upset that she had come back, or that she had come back and not given him a call? He gave the dying cigarette an extra stomp for good measure and turned to start a shower, letting the door slide shut behind him, letting the glass rattle in the frame.

The hot water rushing over his body did him some good, the clammy feel of the steam and the smell of the soap cleared his head, letting him think more clearly. He wasn't going to let it ruin his mood any more than it already had today. It was his and Jane's one year anniversary, and everything had to be perfect.

He wrapped a towel around his waist and began arranging the flowers he had bought into the crystal vase that above the sink. Jane had added all sorts of feminine touches to his once bare loft. Once the flowers to his liking, he began to cook the breakfast. The smell of the sizzling bacon wafted through the room and almost seemed like aromatherapy to him, and for the first time that day, a smile crossed over his face.

He was dry and dressed, hair combed neatly, both breakfast and flowers were out on the table, waiting any minute for Jane to come through the door. Eddie sat at the table, absentmindedly playing with the petals of the white and pink lilies, or pushing the bacon and berries around on his plate with a fork. He hated blueberries, but Jane insisted that they take a regular part of their diets, so Eddie did the best he could to oblige.

It was ten minutes later before Jane pushed her way through the door, trying to balance her yoga mat, her work out clothes, and her keys. Eddie jumped to his feet and took the mat from her hands, allowing her to make it through the narrow doorway.

"Hey baby," He said as he kissed her, and registered that her lips had a faint salty taste of sweat and the honey lip balm she always carried around. The taste wasn't unpleasant; it was something he knew he could always depend on when he kissed her.

"Hey you, everything looks amazing," She said as her dark eyes scanned the apartment, taking in the flowers and breakfast. "I love you" She said as she stole a kiss from his lips. Again, the salt and honey taste.

They sat down together and began to eat before the food got too cold, making pleasant small talk and occasionally, Eddie would lean over and take her hand, look her directly in the eye, and kiss the bridge of her nose. All the little things he knew that she loved.

After they had eaten and Jane watched Eddie clean up, they made love in their bedroom, slow and attentive, two bodies gliding over each other, hearts beating heavily.

Jane took her turn in the shower, and just as Eddie entertained the thought of slipping in behind her and soaping up her back, there was a knock at the door. Eddie turned to answer it, expecting to see the little boy down the hall, hoping for a quarter.

He dug into his pockets and pulled out some stray changed that had fallen out of his wallet. "I hope you're hungry today Nate" He said as he pulled open the door.

"Not really, I already ate. How you doing Eddie?"

"Hi Ally"


	2. Chapter 2

Eddie's eyes almost fell out of his head. He had almost forgotten how short that she was, she barely came up to his chest and she looked about as sly as the cat that ate the canary. "Did you miss me?" She asked, her cunning smile crossing her unpainted lips.

Eddie had to fight every instinct not to simultaneously pull her into a tight hug, and slam the door in her face. He wanted to say something, anything, but couldn't seem to find his voice. His jaw opened like he was about to say something, but then snapped back shut just as quickly. Finally he managed "What're you doing here?" But it was croaky, and he didn't like it.

Ally seemed to pout, "Not quite the welcome home that I expected, but I'll take what I can get" She regarded him almost warily. She looked around him and Eddie blocked the door way with his built 6'2 frame. Ally rolled her eyes and shoved past Eddie and walked into the apartment.

"Nice, you finally cleaned it up a bit," She said teasingly and walked over to the kitchen table where the lilies were still sitting in center display. "Looks like Becca finally got to you, I thought you'd never cave and get rid of the whole 'frat boy' apartment. Where is Becs anyway?"

Eddie stiffened and Ally looked up at him curiously. "No more Becca?" She asked, her lips still pouting out a little bit. Eddie was beginning to hate the way that Ally was looking at him, with a mix of sympathy and accusation. He shook his head and she raised one perfectly shaped eyebrow.

"Then what's with all the stuff? I know you didn't buy this," She said as she picked up a oversized white silk pillow "By yourself, so who did?" She tossed it back down on the couch and turned to face Eddie with the same slightly mocking smile on her lips.

"Actually, I bought it"

Eddie turned on his heel to see Jane standing in the doorway of the bathroom. Her hair was still damp, but she was wearing a black tank top and loose fitting jeans that slipped off her slim hips. "I'm Eddie's girlfriend."

Ally's cynical smile disappeared and bloomed into a dazzling one. "Oh how cute" She gushed and reached out her had to shake Jane's. "I'm Ally Rhone, me and your boy toy go way back" Jane looked at Ally's hand for a minute, as if it was some poisonous snake that was just waiting to bite her.

"Jane Goodale" She slowly shook Ally's hand. She noticed that Ally had neatly manicured fingers, unpainted but still very feminine, and that she was generally a very beautiful girl, and then, a very young girl.

"Jane Goodale," Ally repeated with the small smile back on her lips, as if it was permanently there "Like the chick with the chimps' right?" Eddie had the overpowering urge to want to laugh, Ally had always had a way of saying things.

"Not to seem rude, but how old are you?" Jane asked, eyeing Ally up and down. Ally tilted her head and let a spill of glazed hair fall over her shoulder as she regarded Jane through her expressive brown eyes. "25. How old are you?" The same smirk of a smile was still glued in place, and Eddie had the feeling that Jane might try to smack her.

Jane turned sharply to Eddie and gave him a very calculated kiss on the lips. There was no salt taste this time, but still the same sweet balmy taste. "I'm going to make some reservations for tonight before they get booked up," Than turned to Ally "It is our one year anniversary today after all"

"Oh, how nice for you" Ally said sweetly, although there was an impish glimmer behind her eyes. Jane rolled her eyes and went into her bedroom to dry off before she left the apartment to brave the hot New York City summer heat.

"She seems nice," Ally said as she found herself a comfortable spot on the slightly run down couch and snuggled a little deeper. "Older, but pretty, good for you"

Now Eddie was afraid that he might smack her. She was exactly the same that she had been five years ago, and while he couldn't decide if it was reassuring or not, he still sort of liked her cynicism while she was still young enough to get away with it. Middle ages cynics weren't cute, they were depressing.

Finally, he was managed to find his voice again. "So you came back?" Ally laughed a little and crossed her legs.

"Apparently, I guess the city called to me. I traveled around, met some interesting people, a lot of people actually. I've been fishing in Alaska, I taught sailing in Turks and Caicos for a while and you know I always loved sailing. Than there was Italy, Morocco, those two didn't last very long. Arizona and Ireland lived in the south of France for about two years, oh and then there was some God-forsaken little spit of land in Kansas. However, somehow, I really began to miss home"

At the word 'home', her eyes met his and Eddie left as if he had just grabbed a weak, but still very much alive, wire. There was a odd tingling sensation going down his arms and he wondered if it would be too cliché to have a heart attack at that very moment.

"You just up and left, you hardly said a word" Eddie told her as he sat in the single seat across from her. The guilt that she was feeling seemed to shrink her.

"I know," She admitted as she sat up straight, her hands folded in her lap. She almost looked like a little girl who had gotten into trouble and was being lectured by the principal. "I wanted to call you so badly while I was gone, but I figured that you would be mad, and I know you and I know that it's a lot easier for you to be mad and hate someone than to miss them and worry, so I let you hate me

"You had Rebecca, and I knew that she would help you get over whatever you were going through with me. I know that we were best friends back than, and it was a pretty shitty thing for me to do, but I had my own reasons for doing it. I never forgot about you though Ed and I always wanted to call you to make sure you were alright but..."

Her shoulders kind of slumped to her side, like a puppet whose strings had been abruptly cut by a mad puppeteer. All the words she wanted to tell him had spilled out of her in a mess, and now she didn't look like the deviant twenty year old he used to know, or the fiery girl who was trying to goad on his girlfriend a minute ago. Now, Ally just looked a little tired, like someone who had been running for a long time, but than had no where else to run to.

There was a weird sensation that was bubbling in the pit of his stomach, something that felt cold and metallic, but alive. "Do you want to get some coffee?" He asked finally.

At the sound of his voice, Ally sat back up again, there was a tiny glimmer of hope behind her eyes. "And sushi?"

Eddie had to laugh; she had a funny way of making him do that. "Sure, and sushi. Let's go."


End file.
